The proper way to drink Guinness

The Guinness Brewery opened in Dublin, Ireland, 1759. Since then it has been one of the most common beers in the world. There is a lot of mythology associated with this popularity and easy access.

We identified the facts through studies with the help of Heather McReynolds, a social media correspondent for Guinness. She has spent 10 years in the beer industry, from the chief brewer of The Cannon Brew Pub in Columbus, Georgia, to the Brewing Manager at Sixpoint Brewing in Brooklyn, new Yorkto her current role at Guinness.

First things first: there is good Guinness outside Ireland.

"I'm a bit annoyed when people say Guinness tastes good in Ireland, or you can not get a good glass of Guinness in the States," says McReynolds.

This myth about Guinness has taken over the way people talk and think about beer. There will always be one person in your group who went to Ireland at the tender age of 18 in their gap year and is now parrot: "It does not taste the same here." It is true that the location has much to offer Taste of things is much of it because of the associations that we have about that place. As NPR Learned in 2014, you can literally chop through psychology for a tastier meal without changing anything about the actual food.

Factors that make a good pint a good pint are things like regular cleaning of train lines. Think of beer as liquid bread, says McReynolds, who goes from fresh over old to old. Expired beer will not make you sick, but it definitely does not taste that good.

"With clean lines and the right cast, you'll definitely get a glass of Guinness in the United States that's as good as Ireland's," says McReynolds. "One hundred percent."

Everything starts with the perfect cast.

The art of pouring a Guinness is part marketing, part science. It is known as two-part casting and takes exactly 119 seconds. (You can probably find out for yourself which part of it is the marketing myth.)

The perfect casting starts with a clean glass. The bartender tilts the glass at an angle of 45 degrees and gives the beer from the tap until it is three quarters full. Then the beer is set down and left until it is firmly established. Only when this is done, the beer is filled to the top. However, that does not necessarily mean that you can drink the beer when it arrives to you. First you have to wait for the beer to set and you know it's ready when there's a clean line between the foam head and the dark beer. Her perfectly cast pint should have a curved foam dome on her head that is 15 millimeters high.

At that point, you probably went through all the small talk with the person you came with. Just enjoy the beer. However, following all these rules says as much about the bar as it does about the marketing power of Guinness.

"When Guinness is properly poured in a bar, you know they are also caring enough to do many other things right," says McReynolds. "Bars that care about how they pour Guinness are very interested in other aspects of the service, such as how they pour in other types of beer, and how they take care of their food.

"As a consumer, you pay your hard-earned cash for half a liter of beer. it should be as perfect as it can be, "says McReynolds. "If not, then you should say something."

Guinness glassware makes the difference.

It is well known that Guinness belongs in a pint glass. However, for optimum taste, consider increasing the tone.

William Lee, Professor of Industrial Mathematics at the University of Huddersfield, studied the way bubbles behave in a pint of Guinness. Guinness uses nitrogen instead of carbon dioxide for its bubbles – it was the first beer that actually did – which means these bubbles behave differently than in your standard brew. Guinness bubbles actually sink instead of rising, and the shape of the glass is the main reason for that.

"People think that Guinness glass optimizes settling time," said Lee said in a press release about his studies. "But now we have a better understanding of the theory behind it. Maybe we can make an even better glass to make it faster. Unfortunately, the ideal shape would look like a giant cocktail glass! "

That would just look dumb.

"Many people do not necessarily think that drinking a beer is the first thing you do with your eyes," says McReynolds. "Just as you eat first with your eyes, drink first with your eyes. If Guinness looks so beautiful and the liquid in the right glass is accurate, the picture is only completed. "

In other words, not only where you drink influences the taste of your Guinness. It is also the presentation. Take that, science.

How many sips should it take to finish a Guinness?

Cruise through enough Online Beer Group, read enough blogsor you see enough lonely Irish people sitting at the end of the bar, and you're sure to see a trend: people have a certain amount of swallowing for every Guinness they drink. Sometimes it's four, sometimes eight, and sometimes it's any number between four and eight.

The idea behind it is that the Guinness foam head laces at every point you drink your beer. For example, if you take four sips, you'll end up with four rows of foam lacing on your glass.

"I think the idea is machismo," says McReynolds. "I think you should be able to drink your pint of Guinness in as many gulps as you like, and we always try to promote responsible drinking."

So ignore the online trolls and the encrusted old men. Swallow away but you look fit.

Drink because it's a light beer.

"I get so angry when people look at Guinness and say," No, I can not drink this. it's so hard, "says McReynolds. "Even our biggest fans on the internet still refer to it as a meal in the glass. Guinness is 4.2 percent alcohol, not a big, heavy stout. It also has 125 calories. "

The dark, almost black ruby ​​color comes from the toast of the malt, and has nothing to do with the strength of the beer. Another thing that has contributed to this weighty perception of Guinness is the food people eat with Guinness. Fish and chips for example or just about anything that gets fried. Instead, you should look lighter.

"Oysters and Guinness are the classic combination," says McReynolds. We sip one with some lemon juice over the top and take a sip of beer. The salty oyster complements the coffee and chocolate notes in Guinness, but just about every type of alcohol goes well with oysters. Not every pair was there for so long.

"This pairing has been around for over 100 years," says McReynolds. Dublin is on the waterfront and the first major export market was England. At that time, oysters were worker meals. Somewhere on the other line, these dockworkers realized that their cheap oyster snack was a perfect match for their midday spoon.